Skillnet Ireland CEO Paul Healy to step down from role

15 Jan 2025

Paul Healy, outgoing CEO of Skillnet Ireland. Image: Skillnet Ireland

Healy will leave Skillnet Ireland at the end of Q1 this year, and the agency has confirmed that it has already begun the search for a replacement.

Paul Healy, the CEO of Skillnet Ireland, announced today (15 January) that he is stepping down from the role.

He will leave Skillnet Ireland at the end of Q1 of this year, and Skillnet has already confirmed that it has commenced the recruitment process to select and appoint a new CEO.

The agency, which is the Irish Government’s agency responsible for workforce development, announced that Healy initially informed the board of his decision in November.

Paying tribute to Healy, Skillnet Ireland chair Brendan McGinty said that the outgoing CEO’s contribution to the agency over the past nine years “has been immense” and noted that Healy led the implementation of “two ambitious Statements of Strategy”.

“Paul has significantly deepened Skillnet Ireland’s roots with industry bodies, sectors and directly with companies, more than doubling the number of enterprises that engaged with Skillnet Ireland programmes during his tenure, ensuring the agency is in an exceptionally strong position going forward,” McGinty added.

“Through Paul’s leadership, Skillnet Ireland is now at the centre of the Government’s workforce development agenda, with the agency delivering on multiple policy actions assigned to it with regards to the digital economy, the green transition, SME innovation, and talent development for the major industry sectors.”

McGinty concluded by wishing Healy “every success” in his new career as part of a business consulting partnership.

In related Skillnet Ireland news, the agency last week announced the launch of a collaboration with a consortium of 20 other European academic institutions, research centres and industry stakeholders in the form of a new initiative aimed at addressing the gap in digital skills in the healthcare sector.

The Sustainable Healthcare with Digital Health Data Competence initiative aims to prepare more than 7,000 professionals to navigate the rapidly evolving digital landscape in healthcare by 2028.

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Ciarán Mather was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com